Midge hatch

[wayneb]

Hi All;

Went fishing this evening and it appeared like midges were hatching everywhere, fish were dimpling the surface, and jumping out of the water chasing bugs.

I tried soft hackles with no luck, caught a couple on a size 12 gurgle pop and missed a lot more.

Any one know of a good pattern to use??

Wayne

[dpenrod]

hard to beat a griffith's gnat, size 18 or 20. fish it wet or dry. have had really good luck with it in the situation you describe.

[appalachian angler]

I have caught bluegills during a good midge hatch on a small lake using the good ol' Griffith's gnat as well. You just have to remember to set the hook imediately so the fish do not have a chance to take the fly too deep

aa

[Bluegill222]

Griffith's gnat is good. Around here this time of year that might also be a mosquito hatch (they don't bite until after they've mated, so you are relatively safe during the hatch) and I've found both dry and emerger patterns about a size bigger than the naturals can be killers.

[Thwack]

I've had Griffith's Gnats hit while repositioning my kayak as well. The fly got pulled under and suddenly I was getting far more hits than when it was floating high & dry.

So, if you're chasing a midge hatch, consider pulling the fly back slowwwwwwwly to you (just crawl the line in with one hand working it in with your fingers).

Just another way to do something the fish aren't expecting (and aren't used to ignoring).

[wayneb]

Hi Guys;

Thanks for the suggestions!

Off to the store later this week to get some small hooks and small grizzly whiting's 100's


Wayne

[rons81]

A small soft hackle, Black and Starling size 20-24 just drifted along the surface will work sometimes when nothing else will.

[Fishin Bill]

It's great when I think about it... now that you guys brought it up, I've decided those Griffith's Gnat's I've been carrying around for years may have a use. Why didn't I make the connection before? Oh, it's not good to get old!

[Cold]

A bit late to the conversation, but I had an experience on the water last week that, I think, applies here.

I was on a local trout stream that, due to the summer weather and lack of significant rainfall, has become very low, very slow, and very clear. The trout are still there, still feeding, but they carefully examine everything that drifts by.

Well as I was fishing, I noticed midges and micro-caddis were the bugs of the evening, so I tied on a #22 snowshoe caddis and immediately got attention. One good take that I missed on the hookset followed by a few very close refusals. After about 10 minutes, they were on to the pattern and it was doing no good.

So I switched to a #20 griffiths gnat and again got a few eager refusals, but no fish. A few minutes later, not even a refusal. The entire time, there is one brown trout, straight across from me, ignoring everything I've thrown after the first drift.

Out of ideas, and thinking 'what the heck?', I went to the opposite end of the spectrum and tied on a huge (in comparison) #12 olive wulff, usually meant for fast water. I landed it near that brown, who nosed up to it, swam a circle underneath it, and then, without fanfare, came up and slurped it off the surface. Fish on, fish landed!

What made that fish take a fly 3 times the size of the prevailing hatches, I'll never know, but it just goes to show that sometimes a little counter intuition is exactly what you need.

[kglissmeyer]

Hey wayneb, try my buddy Buzz's Foam-head Emerger. I know I've been touting it a lot lately, but I haven't found it's equal. Look in the Fly Tying forum for pics and the recipe. For smaller midges I like to tie it in a size # 18 and add the starling wing. Good luck!

Kelly.